Dallas is known for its skyline, sports teams, and Southern hospitality. But, behind its modern charm lies a chilling past filled with restless spirits and eerie legends. If you’re brave enough to explore the haunted side of Dallas, several places stand out as magnets for ghostly activity. Whether you’re a skeptic or a true believer, the stories you will read here are bound to unsettle you.
The Adolphus Hotel
The Adolphus Hotel, which opened in 1912, has been a Dallas icon since its inception. Dazzling and majestic, it housed numerous actors, celebrities, and VIPs, including President Harding and President George H. W. Bush.
Despite its glitz and glitter, there’s something dark and dreary about this hotel. The hotel has collected several dead bodies over the years in its seemingly cursed elevator shaft.
The first tragedy happened in 1912, when a newly hired waiter accidentally stepped into the elevator shaft when the elevator wasn’t there. As he turned to say something to a friend, he hadn’t noticed that the elevator had already departed and quickly fell to his death.
Five years later, another new hire, a young elevator boy, tried to leap onto a departing elevator. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. Instead, he fell 100 feet below, crushing his bones and shattering his skull. He did not survive.
Tragedy struck again in 1924 when an employee stretched his head into the elevator shaft to see where the elevator was, only for the elevator to descend on him and kill him. That wasn’t the final death, either – the murderous elevator shaft claimed another life in the 1970s.
These stories have inspired numerous ghostly legends that are hard to ignore. Guests report seeing hotel employees in old-fashioned garb riding beside them, disappearing before the doors open. Others report hearing muffled cries and moans from the depths of the elevator shaft – could those be the “undead” coming back to life?
Some guests and employees refuse to take the elevator, especially at night, preferring the stairs. Are you brave enough to ride this spooky elevator?
Goatman’s Bridge
Goatman’s Bridge connects Denton in the DFW area with Copper Canyon, a small town of less than 2,000 residents. This bridge, more formally called the Old Anton Bridge (named after the abandoned town of Anton), was initially built to carry horses. Later, cars used the bridge until, in 2001, an alternative concrete and steel bridge replaced this iron truss bridge.
Although not in use, the bridge continues to stand near the new bridge. But why the name Goatman’s Bridge, if it was first named after Anton? According to local lore, the bridge is haunted by a vengeful spirit – the Goatman! Half goat and half human, it is the spirit of Oscar Washburn, a successful and beloved goat farmer who lived just north of the bridge and got nicknamed “Goatman” by locals. He even put up a sign by the bridge – it was written, “This way to the Goatman.”
Well, Oscar wasn’t beloved by all – he was black, and his success and the sign drew the ire of the local Klansmen, who kidnapped Mr. Washburn and attempted to lynch him and hang him from the bridge.
According to the legend, after they threw him over the bridge (with the noose already tied around his neck), Washburn disappeared, never to be found again. Upon seeing the noose empty and figuring that he had escaped, the Klansmen returned to his residence and murdered his wife and children.
Legend has it that the Goatman haunts this bridge to this day, seeking revenge on the townsfolk. He doesn’t attack everybody, though. Some say he only attacks descendants of former clansmen; others say he will attack you if you approach the bridge at night, at dark, without any lights, as that is how he was kidnapped.
People report being grabbed and pushed and having rocks thrown at them. Are you brave enough to cross Goatman’s Bridge at night?
White Rock Lake
White Rock Lake is a man-made lake constructed in 1910 to address the water shortage that Dallas was experiencing at the time. The shores were later turned into a municipal park and are now a popular place for families to go on weekends, with boat rentals available to explore the lake. Swimming, however, was banned in the lake in 1952 in an effort to make the water cleaner and more fit for human consumption.
The cheery, family-friendly nature of the lake and surrounding park obscures a dark secret hiding under the waters—that of the “Lady of the Lake,” whose accounts date back to the 1940s.
A story published in the Texas Folklore Society’s publication, “Backwoods to Border,” originally written in 1943, tells of an older couple driving past the lake who came across a young lady standing in their deadlights. This young lady was dripping wet and wearing a white dress.
Of course, the couple stopped to offer help. The lady, recounting how she fell into the lake while boating with her friends (who were all safe, she assured them), asked to be given a ride back home.
She got into the car’s rumble seat, and they drove to the address she mentioned. Along the way, though, she disappeared. Deciding to check out the address she gave them, they found an old man at the door, who told them something shocking.
Their daughter had died a few weeks prior in a boating accident on the lake, and this was the third time motorists had “brought her home” after finding her on the road!
A rumble seat, by the way, is a front-facing exterior seat in the back of a car. Vintage cars from the 1930s often had this sort of back seat, similar to a carriage seat, which allowed an extra passenger to ride in the car, albeit exposed to the open air.
A similar account was published in the 1953 book Neiman-Marcus, Texas: The Story of the Proud Dallas Store. According to this account, the woman got into the car’s back seat and remained there until her arrival at the house. When they arrived, she promptly disappeared, leaving behind a puddle from her wet dress and hair.
Was it the same occurrence, or did it happen more than once with slightly different details? Nobody knows, but the story has remained a Dallas legend.
Another story tells of a group of teens swimming in the lake at night (after the swimming ban). One teen felt a hand grasping her and trying to pull her into the water. She escaped, but never swam there again.
The legend inspired the song “Bringing Mary Home” by The Country Gentlemen, released in 1966.
Here are some of the verses:
I was driving down a lonely road one dark and stormy night
When a little girl by the roadside showed up in my headlights
I stopped and she got in back and in a shaky tone
She said: My name is Mary, please won’t you take me home?
…
I pulled into the driveway where she told me to go
Got out to help her from the car and opened up the door
But I just could not believe my eyes ’cause the back seat was bare
I looked all around the car but Mary wasn’t there.
Would you drive near the lake at night? What would you do if you saw the Lady of the Lake, or if she begged you for a ride home?
If you want to explore Dallas’ most haunted spots, consider joining a local Dallas ghost tour for a night of spooky fun!
